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How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue your attorney for negligence, you must show that their negligence caused legal, monetary or other negative consequences for you. You must establish a direct connection between the attorney's negligence and the negative result.

Strategy-related issues do not constitute legal malpractice, but if your lawyer fails to file a lawsuit in time and you lose the case that could be a form of malpractice.

Use of funds in a fraudulent way

One of the most popular kinds of legal malpractice is a lawyer's misuse of funds. Attorneys have a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are expected to behave with the highest degree of trust and fidelity, particularly when dealing with money or other property that the client has given to them.

When a client makes retainer to their lawyer, the lawyer is required to deposit that money into a separate escrow account specifically for malpractice lawsuit the purpose of that case only. If the lawyer makes use of the escrow account for personal purposes or co-mingles it with their own funds the attorney is in breach of their fiduciary duty and could be accused of legal malpractice.

For example, imagine that a customer hires their attorney to represent them in an action against a driver who slammed into them as they were walking along the street. The client is able to prove the driver's negligence, and that the accident led to the injuries they sustained. Their lawyer, however, does not follow the law and is unable file the case on time. The lawsuit is dismissed, and the person who was injured is liable for financial loss as a result of the lawyer's error.

The time to sue an attorney for malpractice is limited by a statute of limitation which can be a challenge to determine in cases where an injury or loss resulted from the negligence of the attorney. A qualified New York attorney with experience in malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations to you and assist you determine if your situation is a good fit for a legal malpractice suit.

Failure to Follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney fails to follow generally accepted professional standards and harms the client. It requires the four elements of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship as well as breach of duty and proximate cause.

A few common examples of malpractice are a lawyer commingling their personal and trust account funds, failing to file a lawsuit within the timeframe of the statute of limitations and assuming cases in which they are not competent, failing to conduct a conflict-check, and not staying up to date on court proceedings or new developments in law that could impact the case. Lawyers are accountable to communicate with their clients in a timely manner. This isn't just limited to emails and faxes and includes also answering phone calls in a timely manner.

It is also possible for lawyers to commit fraud. This can be done in various ways, which includes lying to the client or to anyone involved in a case. In this scenario, it is important to have the facts on the hands of the investigator to determine if the lawyer was being dishonest. A breach of the agreement between the attorney and client is when an attorney decides to take a case outside their area of expertise without informing the client about it or suggesting they seek independent counsel.

Inability to advise

When a client engages a lawyer, it means that their legal situation has become beyond their skill and experience. They are unable to solve the problem themselves. The lawyer is obliged to inform clients of the importance of the case, the risks and costs involved, as well as their rights. If an attorney does not comply with this requirement, they could be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice claims result from a lack of communication between attorneys and their clients. For instance an attorney may not respond to phone calls or fail to notify their clients of the decision made on their behalf. An attorney may also be unable to disclose important information about a case or fail to disclose known problems with an transaction.

A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses as a result of the lawyer's negligence. These losses must be documented. This requires evidence, like client files and emails, or other correspondence between an attorney and client, and also bills. In the event of theft or fraud, it may also be necessary to engage an expert witness to review the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys must adhere to the law and know what it means for specific situations. They could be found guilty of malpractice if they don't. Examples include mixing funds from clients with theirs, using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses, and failing to do basic due diligence.

Another example of legal malpractice includes the failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, ignoring deadlines for filing in court and not observing the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any conflict of interests. They must inform clients of any personal or financial interest that could influence their judgement when representing them.

Attorneys are also required to follow the instructions of their clients. If a customer instructs them to take particular action, the attorney must follow the instructions unless there is an obvious reason to believe that it would not be advantageous or is not feasible.

To win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that the lawyer violated his duty of care. This can be difficult as it requires showing that the defendant's actions or inaction caused damages. It's not enough to prove the result of the negligence of the attorney was bad in order for a malpractice lawsuit claim to be successful, it has to be proven that there is a high probability that the plaintiff could have won the case when the defendant had acted in accordance with the usual procedure.